1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a discharge panel, and more particularly relates to the structure of discharge electrodes formed within a discharge panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Discharge panels can be used in plasma displays, etc. and development in this field has been progressing since recent times. Research has also been progressing in recent years with regard to plasma addressed display devices where a liquid crystal panel and a discharge channel are laminated so as to expand the range of applications for discharge channels. FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional discharge channel for application in a plasma display. As shown in FIG. 4, a discharge channel 102 includes a pair of substrates 108 and 113 bonded together with a gap space, with ionizable gas being sealed within the gap space. The gap space is partitioned by barrier ribs 110 interposed between the substrates 108 and 113 so as to form dot-shaped or stripe-shaped discharge cells 112. Discharge electrodes 109a are formed at the inner surface of the substrate 108, with discharge electrodes 109b being formed at the inner surface of the other substrate 113. These discharge electrodes 109a and 109b are arranged to face to each other within each of the discharge cells 112, so that the gas within the gap is ionized in response to an externally applied voltage to thereby generate plasma discharge. Further, a fluorescent film 120 is formed at the surface of the substrates 108 within each of the discharge cells 112 so as to form a pixel. Ultraviolet rays generated due to the plasma discharge then cause the fluorescent film 120 to become excited to display the desired images.
With plasma displays in which the display is carried out directly using the plasma discharges of the discharge panel, if the width of the discharge electrodes 109a is made larger, the effective light emitting area becomes narrower because surface area occupied by the fluorescent film 120 is sacrificed as a result. The open surface area at a top side to which a liquid crystal panel could be applied also becomes narrow as a result of the discharge electrodes becoming wide in a plasma-addressed display devices in which the discharge panel is used for liquid crystal panel linear-sequential addressing. Conversely, if the discharge electrodes are made narrow to enlarge the effective luminescent region and the surface area of the openings, the electrical resistance increases and there may occur uneven plasma discharges which effect the operating characteristics. Further, if the width of the discharge electrodes is made extremely small, interruptions in the wiring may also occur.